The D7 dips briefly south to cross the River Vienne near Candes-St.Martin where the Loire and Vienne join, the meeting point of three historic regions: Anjou, Poitou and Touraine. From the bridge you may spot one of the péniches with its black, flat hull topped by a brown hut-like superstructure at one end. The name Candes is thought to derive from a Gallic word for confluence; Saint-Martin was added officially as late as 1949, although it had been in common usage for many years. Evidence of Gallo-Roman occupation was found in 19th century excavations in the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace which crowns the hill. The beautiful cream stone village takes its name – and its main claim to fame – from the magnificent church which has succeeded the 4th century monastery where St Martin, the Bishop of Tours, died in 397.

Less historic, but very important, is the renowned ‘caviste’, Enfin Du Vin specialising in sales of St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Touraine, Saumur Champigny and Chinon, four of the famous wines in this area.

On to Montsoreau passing some imposing, pristine riverside properties, often owned by Parisians as second homes. Rarely on the market, but snapped up as soon as they are, they fetch a premium price. But it’s free to dream…

Commanding the river, Montsoreau was built in 1455 as a strategic fortress, to control river traffic between Chinon and Saumur. By the end of the 19th century, the castle was abandoned and in near ruins. Today, having undergone extensive renovation, visitors to the castle can see a ‘son et lumière’, a show with music and light playing out scenes of life on the river and, of course, the romantic legend of the Dame de Montsoreau made famous by Alexandre Dumas. But do climb up behind the castle and walk up through Montsoreau itself, a hidden delight of charming houses festooned with window boxes bursting with flowers.

Past Montsoreau, you have kilometres of vines and troglodyte buildings on your left and the Loire on your right. The delightful villages such as Turquant are a must-stop with, of course, a “dégustation” of local wine. While there are few shops along this route except in the larger villages, there is no lack of chic as well as informal restaurants to suit all taste and pockets.

At Le Marçonnay, near Parnay, you pass through the Greenwich Meridian – yes, really! Looking up, you glimpse one of the strangest sites, the troglodyte château du Marçonnay, one of the grandest troglo buildings along this stretch of the Loire. People lived in these spacious caves, adding facades, windows and doors and sometimes incorporating the caves into regular houses. And then there’s the vines, something that always entrances.

At Souzay-Champigny, the road becomes the romantically named Route des Ducs d’Anjou and the landscape widens out to include one of the many river islands. Blending in with the cream stone of the valley buildings, the château rises up from the road in tiers like a fairly-tale castle. On through Dampierrre and Beaulieu where you arrive at the famous home of Saumur bubbly, Gratien & Meyer, dramatically perched on the hill in front of the deep caves, then on to Saumur itself. But that’s another story…

Alison Morton runs Loire Thouet Property Search (www.ltps.fr)

Email: alisonmorton@ltps.fr   Blog: http://ltps-fr/blog/

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Five great things about the south bank of the Loire

1. Peaceful and luxuriant countryside, even in the heart of a popular tourist area.

2. Clean cream stone and grey slate roofed buildings

3. Vines stretching out in serried rows for hundreds of metres.

4. The result of the vines – red, white, rosé, bubbly – all available along this route

5. Troglodyte dwellings in the cliffs and even a château!

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Like all mature rivers, the valley here is very wide at this stage, providing a vast area of beautiful countryside, cultivated and built on by kings and commoners. It is also known as the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, artichoke, asparagus and cherry fields which line not only the banks of the river itself but much further south. For the visitor and resident alike, the quality of its architectural heritage, in historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, is stunning, let alone its masterpiece castles, such as the Amboise,  Chambord, Ussé,  Villandry and Chenonceau.

But this château magic spreads south; Montreuil-Bellay, Brézé, Oiron Thouars. And every small village south of the Loire has delights to discover; the packhorse bridge and twelfth century church at St Generoux, Voltaire’s house and the stunning castle at Saint-Loup-Lamairé, the dolmens of Taizé…

The south Loire Valley and north Deux-Sèvres not only offers excellent value for money, but is south enough to enjoy nearly 2,000 hours of sunshine per year (Météo France) plus it has terrific transport links. Around four and a half hours’ drive from Dieppe and six from the tunnel and Calais, the area benefits from great air links; Airport drive times  from Thouars: Poitiers 1 hour, Tours 1 hour 20mins, Nantes 2 hours and La Rochelle 2hours 20mins. The TGV from Poitiers runs a direct service to Lille, then across the platform to the Eurostar and into the heart of London.

For shoppers, the market in Thouars is one of the biggest in south-west France. For children and adults alike the zoo at Doué-la-Fontaine is world class and at Loudun is one of the best karting tracks in France.

And the good news is that your property pound goes so much further.

Trends…

The Notaires de France website http://www.immoprix.com records prices paid for different sizes of property, down to sector level in each department. Averaged prices cannot reflect local individual details of commune, condition, or land, but this site’s strength is that it shows trends in actual prices paid, not the posted prices. Following the general trend in France, Deux-Sèvres (79) prices fell (6.5% in 2008-09) but recovered in 2010 (4.1% 2009-10), but have not yet reached the level of the first quarter of 2008. The gap is closing, but local agents reckon it will take most of 2011 to do so. Thus, properties can still be purchased at discount prices. In the Maine-et-Loire (49), the trend was the same but more extreme, dipping 7.4% in 2008-09 and recovering 7.5% in 2009-10.

FNAIM, the French estate agents’ organization reports that in 2010 the number of available properties was low in respect of demand which led to the remarkable recovery last year. But it considers that prices stabilized in the first quarter of 2011 and only low figure growth is expected.

A concrete example…

As a buying agent, I am frequently asked by international purchasers to find property for them, whether as a maison secondaire or a permanent home. I recently carried out a search for a 3-4 bedroom, two-bathroom house with some land, budget around 270,000-300,000€. I was pleasantly surprised by the range and quality of the properties I dug out over four weeks’ work to fit my client’s brief.

A well restored and outstandingly maintained 1850s longère with three bedrooms and large garden over 3,000m2 was an absolute snip at a €231,000. The house was on the edge of a hamlet in open countryside between Montreuil-Bellay and Loudun, had an extra double-glazed building ripe for conversion and the usual outbuildings, including garaging. Through a gate at the rear of the courtyard was a large grass area planted with young trees and shrubs. There was plenty of space for a swimming pool and further planting or landscaping.

Even relatively modest houses in this area have historic connections reaching back over centuries, even into the medieval period. And they’re not all tumbledown piles of stone! One former 17^th century estate house at €299,000 had a (now blocked-up) tunnel running to the site of the former château. Another, on the market at €233,000, dating back to Cardinal Richelieu’s time on the edge of the village had a similar tunnel with rumoured romantic connections. Both had been beautifully restored, with modern facilities but retained that elusive, genuine period feel.

In the beautiful town of Montreuil-Bellay, packed with history from pre-medieval through to the 1940s defenders, I discovered a charming maison bourgeoise built in the 1880s. Spacious reception rooms

Many people like to convert or expand their new property, making their own impact. But although happy to carry out some work, my clients didn’t want to live in weeks or months of mess or bite off more than they could chew. I found an ideal property priced at €263,000 near Doué-la-Fontaine.

A charming longère built in 1900, oozing with beams, chimneys, exposed stone and tiled floors throughout the ground floor, it fitted the brief perfectly. Not to mention a large creamy stone barn across the courtyard, a troglodyte cave for your wine, and small orchard of fruit trees.

But running behind the kitchen, utility room and living room lay a double height 70m2 unconverted room with part mezzanine floor ripe for opening up to form a large reception room and/or additional accommodation on two floors. Current accommodation was just under 200m2, so this would be a sizeable addition when converted.

A tiny warning…

I’ve learnt to look at a far wider price range in France than I would in the UK as price reflects value even less here. And being on the ground, I can walk round and see things as they really are. The lowest price house I found on this search which offered the same accommodation was €196,000. The cost of refurbishment would have been around €25,000. A bargain, except that it was next to a processing plant, something that wasn’t visible from any of the original photos…

To buy or not to buy?
If you are ready to go, this is an excellent time. The weather is dry for viewings; you’ll be able to see what’s going on it the area and what it can offer. Buying a property is one of the most important purchases you ever make. It often involves a mixture of head and heart. If you understand the buying process and property laws, speak fluent French and are at leisure to take several weeks to look around, then you will be able to acquire your dream property.  If not, well, I am a little biased, but a professional property finder living in the area has the time and contacts to search property fitting your personal needs and wants.  They’ll find those gems not on agents’ lists, guide you through the buying process, help cross any language barrier and introduce you to legal, currency and financing professionals. And, of course, the local builder or handyman!

Alison Morton runs an independent property finding company, Loire Thouet Property Search (www.ltps.fr) as part of FrenchEntree Property Finders in the north Deux-Sèvres. Contact her on +33 5 49 66 15 00 (landline), +33 6 06 43 93 40 (mobile) or on alisonmorton@ltps.fr

Where ADSL isn’t available it is possible that a radio service via WiMax might be available, this is becoming increasingly popular in the Poitou-Charentes to fill in the gaps in ADSL coverage. The roll-out of WiMax is going to take some time because it will be driven by the demand for the service in any particular commune.

Another method of obtaining internet access if ADSL isn’t available is by using a VSAT terminal, this is the most expensive of the three options in terms of initial outlay for the equipment, and the monthly running costs.

So after that brief summary of how you can get internet access, how can you check that your prospective house purchase has access to the internet and what method will you need to employ to get connected. Fortunately you can do some research before you sign the Compromis de Vente (contract to buy) Visit the Degroupe Test website and enter the details of the house, region, village, street, house number and telephone number if you know it. and the site will give you details of the approximate distance to the exchange in kilometres and estimates of the service you are likely to receive at that address. It will also indicate which Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) can serve that address with details of their offers, so you will have some idea of the monthly costs too.

ADSL uses your existing phone line to carry the additional signals for internet access, these are at a far higher frequency compared to voice so whilst your phoneline will work fine for voice if you are a considerable distance from the exchange, the further you are from the exchange the more the line attenuates the ADSL signals and thus your data rate will be reduced or at worst not work at all. The Wikipedia article on ADSL can explain it all better and in more detail than I can here!

WiMax uses a small dish or flat plate antenna that will be mounted in a position on your house so that it has a clear line of sight path to the nearest base station.  Quite often the quickest way to tell if you have a line of sight path is by using a pair of binoculars, at the position that the antenna will be mounted. If you can see the base station antenna then you should be able to get a service. WiMax typically offers a standard 2 Mb download service at a cost that is slightly higher at the moment than ADSL.

With satellite broadband using a VSAT terminal there will also be caps applied to the speed and amount of data you can download on this type of service. Like Satellite TV reception you need a dish mounted on the side of your house which needs to be rigidly mounted and accurately aligned to point at the satellite. You will not be able to using your TV satellite dish for internet access because they need to be pointing at different satellites.

Companies that offer Wimax or Satellite broadband include:

• Alsatis
• Idyle Telecom
• Internet par Satellite – Comparison site
• Nordnet
• Numeo

So before you fall head over heels in love with a house if a fast internet connection is part of your life/business, check out if you can get fast internet at that house before you sign the contract.

I’m not going to give you advice, apart from me not being qualified, your case may be very different from mine. We opted for the assurance vie, which sounds like ‘life assurance’ if you translate it word for word, but that would be so wrong. Essentially, it’s an investment vehicle where unlimited assets can be held within an insurance bond with several key tax advantages; income, wealth and succession.

Before I describe how we went about it, here are a few sites which describe some of the technical nitty-gritty: French Entree Just Landed The Connexion

Two observations:
If you decide to manage your own investments, which is perfectly possible, you need to spend time on this and you need a reasonable level of French. If you are unsure on either count, an English-speaking advisor/consultant may be the better solution.

So, how did we do it?
Firstly, that old chestnut – loads of research! I’ve been reading the annual review from the French financial magazine Le Journal for the past two years. It’s published as a special edition in April and I’ve gained a great deal from its clear style and no-nonsense approach. An education in itself. Another helpful place is the financial section of Le Figaro. After comparing the information from both these sources, I sent off for documentation from a selection of companies. Some of it should have been weighed, not read. The application forms stretched over reams of paper. And, of course, they were in triplicate…

Our selection made, we contacted two companies and made appointments. One serious, but friendly and approachable, advisor came to us last Friday and we were very pleased by his informative presentation, his flexibility and willingness to explain everything in minute detail. He completed the humungous forms for us and helped us to think well out of the box about other aspects which even my research hadn’t turned up and on which he would not make any money. Really. Slightly old fashioned in these slick days of ‘everything Internet’, but nearly three hours of personal advice and assistance was a refreshing change.

Part Deux next week as we go and see the other company for the other half of our investment strategy.

For much of its length, the Thouet is paralleled by the GR 36, a long-distance walking route linking Ouistreham, near Caen on the Channel, with the Spanish border. Crossing the Thouet using the same fords, packhorse bridges and stepping stones the pilgrims would have used on the most important journey of their lives to Santiago de Compostela, brings you the thrill of a direct connection into their lives.

Once navigable between its confluence with the Loire and Montreuil-Bellay, merchants from Saumur used the Thouet commercially first around 1430. An important tributary, the Dive, was part canalised, but competition from the railways proved too much. But rich discoveries lie in wait if you are interested in social and canal history.

Montreuil-Bellay, south of Saumur, is a quiet gem of a medieval town with a ‘pepper pot’ château, an 11th century keep and stunning views across fields of vines. The wine sold in the château’s shop is to die for! On to Thouars, where grey slate roofs and tuffeau walls give way to stone-washed walls with terracotta tile roofs.  Whether it’s the rich historical atmosphere of the castle, the Église Saint-Médard, the old town or the huge, bustling Tuesday and Friday markets where a staggering range of fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood, meat, honey, cheese, and household goods overflow from market hall into the town square, Thouars, situated dramatically on a cliff above the Thouet, has a great deal to offer the property owner (and the keen photographer!).

From the stunning Cirque de Missé, via Taizé, boasting seven dolmens making up the  biggest megalithic burial site in the region, and a detour to the remarkable Château d’Oiron, the Thouet meanders on to St Généroux with an impressive 9^th century church and packhorse bridge arching gracefully over the lush green banks. Nearby, Airvault with its magnificent 11th century church, covered market and cobbled stones is a joy to explore and has a lively cultural and arts scene.

To the south, Saint-Loup-Lamairé, a medieval delight with attractive half-timbered houses, decorated with baskets of bright red geraniums boasts a striking 17th century château said to have inspired Charles Perrault to write ‘Puss in Boots’. The family of the philosopher and writer Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) came from St Loup. Voltaire is supposed to have chosen his pen name by inverting the syllables of the word ‘Airvault.’

Further south, Parthenay boasts not only medieval fortifications and an extensive old quarter, but a lively cattle market and gracious 19^th century squares and boulevards. Once an important centre of religious tourism, situated on pilgrimage route south to Compostela, it retains an international recreational link as host to the FLIP (Festival Ludique International de Parthenay). If you have children (of all ages!) to tire out in July, this is the place to be.

Finally, on to Secondigny via Pougne-Hérisson, centre every other year of the story-telling and imagination world, you arrive at the source of the Thouet near Le Beugnon.

The rich profusion of wildlife along the river and plentiful opportunities for canoeing and kayaking, horse-riding, cycling, swimming and, of course, walking ensure the Vallée du Thouet offers something to everyone. Steeped in history, yet with a strong agricultural core, the Vallée du Thouet captivates the heart as one of the most tranquil and undiscovered corners of France.

Alison Morton runs Loire Thouet Property Search (www.ltps.fr)

Email: alisonmorton@ltps.fr   Blog: http://ltps-fr/blog/

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Five great things about the Vallée du Thouet

1 The Château de Thouars commanding the valley from an impossibly high cliff –  magic at night.

2 The food – meat, saucisses, cheeses, especially the famous goats’, honey, salmon, pastry delicacies (fouacé)

3 The fresh, deep and heavenly white chenin ‘vin du thouarsais’ from Oiron.

4. Deserted, tranquil roads criss-crossing wide swathes of open countryside.

5. The 13^th century St Jacques Gate and bridge in Parthenay – magnificent!

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Photos

All © Alison Morton, Steve Morton 2010